When the clouds of war began to thicken over Europe, the Greek Government, recognizing the dangers of getting involved in the impending conflict, decided to implement an important defensive reinforcement program for the country. This program involved equipping all branches (Army, Navy, Air Force) with modern materials as well as strengthening the defensive fortifications both along the northern borders and around strategic points of the country, significantly contributing, to the extent that it was implemented, to the Greek successes of '40-'41.
The H.B.A. (Greek Royal Air Force) in the mid-1930s was equipped with outdated materials completely unsuitable for military operations. Thus, a great effort was made to renew the flying material and technical means despite the adverse economic circumstances as well as the reluctance of many factories to fulfill contracts due to military preparations in their countries. Ordinary citizens also contributed to this effort either through their donations to campaigns for the air force or through contributions.
Among the contracts that were finally executed (literally at the last moment) was the procurement of 16 reconnaissance and light bombing aircraft HS-126K-4 from the German company Henschell. These aircraft were delivered in December 1939 (after World War II had already been declared) and were the most modern in the arsenal of the H.B.A. They were a single-engine high-wing all-metal aircraft with a crew of 2 men, the pilot and the observer - camera operator - gunner. They were delivered fully equipped with offensive and defensive armaments, sights, and wireless equipment, and this was one of the rare instances where the material was accompanied by the official technical manual translated into Greek at the responsibility of the manufacturing company.
They were intensively used from the very first day of the war for reconnaissance and tracking of the movements of Italian units on Greek territory, and indeed one Hs-126K-6 was the first loss of the war for the H.B.A. Unfortunately, during the retreat after the German invasion, all remaining HS-126 were destroyed either in the air or on the ground, thereby closing their brief history with the Greek colors.
The reprint of this extremely rare original manual, in addition to being an important aid for historical researchers of the period, serves as a tribute to an aircraft that significantly contributed to the achievement of the "Epic of '40".
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